"Die Verminderung der Sollarbeitszeit an Feiertagen und Vorfeiertagen im Tarifvertragsrecht für den öffentlichen Dienst – auch an Sonntagen?" [Reduction of the target working time on public holidays and „pre-holidays“ in collective bargaining law for the public service]

Co-author Jens Gerlach

The parties to the collective agreements wish to grant public sector employees the right to paid time off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve under the provisions of Section 6(3) of the TVöD-AT and TV-L. Every few calendar years – for example in 2017 and 2023 – 24 December and 31 December fall on a Sunday. This raises the question of whether these provisions should also apply when employees do not have to work on these Sundays anyway. The same issue arises with regard to public holidays that fall on a Sunday. Against this background, this article examines the interplay between statutory and collective agreement provisions regarding the reduction of scheduled working hours on public holidays and the day preceding a public holiday. It begins with the less problematic cases of public holidays and the day preceding a public holiday that fall on a working day. In a second step, the article addresses the legal situation regarding public holidays and the day preceding a public holiday that fall on a Sunday, which has so far remained largely unresolved.